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Updated on: 11 May 2014, 11:01

15

3

Useful Blog Posts

Cindy Tokumitsu wrote:

Community service is an activity that you do; engaged community citizenship is a quality that you embody. Doing community service does not automatically mean you possess the quality of engaged community citizenship. Harvard Business School explicitly seeks this quality in its applicants – announced in bold letters on its “Who are we looking for?” page............................Read the Complete post here

Cindy Tokumitsu wrote:

It’s common knowledge that HBS values leadership, but with this phrase, the adcom succinctly expresses how they view leadership – dynamic, deep, intrinsic, long-term. It’s something you possess and bring to your experiences, not something that happens to describe your involvement in a few isolated incidents (i.e., the proverbial “leadership experience”).............................Read the Complete post here

“You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?”

That’s it. No word limit. Use your own judgment as to how much to tell us. We have neither a “right answer” nor a “correct length” in mind. We will review all the elements of the written application to decide who moves forward to the interview stage of our process.

“You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?”

That’s it. No word limit. Use your own judgment as to how much to tell us. We have neither a “right answer” nor a “correct length” in mind. We will review all the elements of the written application to decide who moves forward to the interview stage of our process.

Crazy... One essay, no word limit... It looks like HBS is really trying to do away with letting consultants play a part in the process. Good Luck everyone!

Edit:Even more interesting

Quote:

Why the reduction in number of essays? Sorry to repeat myself but “it’s not an essay-writing contest”. There is always –and will always be - great variance in both subject matter and degree of polish in the essays of admitted candidates. Maybe there will be admits this year who say we don’t need to know anything else beyond the credentials they have already submitted – for them, the application may be “essay-less”. I also think that removing the word limit brings this process closer to the way things work in the Real World which is always our goal.

Hmmm... I wonder if there will be admits with apps that are "essay-less" Crazy...

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Did you guys see that recommenders are now required to answer two questions instead of four?

Recommendations must be completed online. The recommendation form includes the following questions, along with other types of questions.

How do the candidate's performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples. (300 words)Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response. (250 words)

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30 May 2013, 22:33

That's interesting, what i am missing here is how does the adcom know the post-MBA career goals (esp for career switchers). Is it inferred? presuming the candidate does not mention it in this essay question. I did not find any other section in the application requirements that conveys / helps convey this explicitly.

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31 May 2013, 00:40

sh00nya wrote:

That's interesting, what i am missing here is how does the adcom know the post-MBA career goals (esp for career switchers). Is it inferred? presuming the candidate does not mention it in this essay question. I did not find any other section in the application requirements that conveys / helps convey this explicitly.

“You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?”

That’s it. No word limit. Use your own judgment as to how much to tell us. We have neither a “right answer” nor a “correct length” in mind. We will review all the elements of the written application to decide who moves forward to the interview stage of our process.

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01 Jun 2013, 15:51

3

sh00nya wrote:

That's interesting, what i am missing here is how does the adcom know the post-MBA career goals (esp for career switchers). Is it inferred? presuming the candidate does not mention it in this essay question. I did not find any other section in the application requirements that conveys / helps convey this explicitly.

For last year's application (for class of 2015) it was a VERY short question you fill out online (300 characters or something like that - essentially 2 sentences around "Why an MBA / Harvard").

From everything I've heard from Dee on this subject they really don't like the post-MBA career goal question. Their view is that it's such a hypothetical question it becomes useless. There's no way to know if you're being genuine or if you simply make up a really compelling story for your goals with no intention of actually doing that. They want to create a diverse and talented class that is prime to be successful - and for them the best predictor of future success is to look at why you've done the things you've done in your life.

Obviously it's up to you what to do with the essay but I would just warn to not make the emphasis of what you want to convey about future plans. If your future goals fit nicely with the story of who you are and where you're coming from it would probably fit quite organically. I didn't mention future goals in either of my essays last year and received an interview and only spent 2 minutes of the interview discussing future plans. Obviously they weren't interested in it for my application at least.